Diary of a Word Nerd

What you need to know about Viticulture

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

I’ve driven many miles around my home state of Virginia this summer, from the southwest corner in the mountains, over the Blue Ridge into Charlottesville, and up to the bustle of Northern Virginia. And several times along Interstate 81 and 64, I’ve passed signs saying “Welcome to Virginia’s Viticultural Area.” Living in a rural county filled with farms, I know what agricultural means, but what in the world does viticulture mean? The Word Nerd had to know.

Turns out, viticulture simply means the cultivation or culture of grapes, especially for wine making. (Thanks Merriam-Webster.) It comes from the Latin vitis meaning vine + the English “culture.” This is why I love researching word etymology – I discover how an intimidating word like “viticultural” is actually about one of my favorite things, wine!

An American Viticultural Area is a federally designated geographic area where 85 percent or more of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the boundaries of that AVA. The wine must also be fully finished within the state or one of the states in which the AVA is located. Those are the federal regulations; some states have stricter standards for use of the term AVA on wine labels. According to the website Virginia Wine, my state has 10 regions and 8 distinct AVAs, including ones in Central Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and Northern Virginia. (Hence, all the signs I spotted!)

The Virginia Wine site explains that the viticultural tradition started in Virginia way back with the first settlers and the Founding Fathers. However, it didn’t gain traction until the 1970s. Apparently, there is growing interest in Virginia wines, and Virginians dedicated to viticulture focus on the unique flavors that come from grapes grown here, like Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. I’d never heard of Cabernet Franc until I tried some from a wine shop in the Shenandoah Valley- I liked it! A bit lighter than a Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Virginia Wine site claims, with dramatic emphasis and accompanying videos:

There’s a movement growing in Virginia vineyards…
A community of farmers perfecting their own agricultural art. They don’t bend to trends. They listen to their land, drawing out the story in every vine and every vintage. Crafting wines that embody the grace, grit and experimental spirit of Virginia.
https://www.virginiawine.org/about#place

Now I think it’s time to plan an official tour of the American Viticultural Areas near me. Fall is beautiful in Virginia, and sampling wine would be a perfect way to spend a fall Saturday.

Did you know what viticulture means? What new words have you learned while traveling this summer?

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Who I Am

Advice as you head off to college

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

On a recent Tuesday night, I pulled up a chair to the dining room table of my dear friend to share pork barbecue and laughter with a beloved circle of women. We first met in the early 2000s, coaching each other through nursing and napping via our weekly playgroup meetings. In the two decades that have passed, we’ve collectively birthed 21 babies and wrangled those children through toddler hood to adolescence, successfully launching 20 of them to college. (I still have one in the nest.)

In our small town of 8000, this group of friends offered me more support than I ever found living in the bigger cities of Virginia. These women delivered food to my house while I recovered from the births of babies two, three, and four. (Note, baby number three weighed 10 and a half pounds and brought my most difficult recovery.) These friends also watched my toddlers so I could go for a run or run to Walmart. One actually jogged with me for a while, each of us pushing our hefty 18 month olds in running strollers up the hills that define our southwest Virginia home.

Recently, these same women brought dinners to my family while I was away caring for my ailing father. They sent flowers and cards of encouragement throughout his illness and stood by me when he died.

Collectively, the women who sat with me around that table have faced, themselves or in loved ones, at least seven cancer diagnoses. We’ve also navigated mental health crises, alcoholism, and the challenges of caring for aging parents. We’ve lost mothers and fathers and grieved a still born grandchild.

Our group has done a lot of living, and through it, we’ve gained a lot of wisdom. The hostess of the party, who was preparing to launch the last of her three children, recognized this. She asked if each of us would share one piece of advice with her 18 year old daughter before she moved to college. We immediately smiled, clapping our hands with enthusiasm and knitting our brows in thought. The 18 year old dropped her head, and her mama cried. Here’s what we came up with:

Advice before you leave for college

Enjoy every minute. Four years go by fast.
Take advantage of all the opportunities available to you – take weird classes, explore new ideas, study abroad
Know that it is very dangerous to be very drunk at a fraternity party, or any kind of party. Always stay in a group of trusted friends when you go out.
Keep track of your dorm key!
Don’t let having a significant other from high school stop you from going to places or events or meeting new people.
Everyone wants someone to sit with at dinner. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to join you or to join someone else.
There will never be another time when you will be surrounded by so many people your age with similar priorities and interests – and with different interests. Take advantage of the environment and engage with lots of people.
The people you befriend in college could become life long companions – be excited about that.
Be a good friend and lean on your friends.
Never drink anything you didn’t open or order or pour yourself.
It might take awhile for you to find your true friends, and that’s okay. Your first year often looks very different from your later years of college.
(This from the only woman under 23 at the table and a college student athlete.) Figure out what works for you re: sleeping, eating, and studying. Don’t feel like you have to do what everybody else does.

Personally, I think I should make a poster out of this and sell it on Etsy. 😉 Thoughts?

We gathered that evening to celebrate birthdays, but we found so much more. Friendship, wisdom, and love, that hopefully the young women at the table felt and will go out into the world to share in their own ways.

Good luck to the newly launched, and love and hugs to all of the wise mamas (and fathers) out there. We’ve got this.

I know the 18 year olds pretend that we are stupid, but deep down, I think they soak up our advice, even if they never admit it. Especially if it doesn’t come directly from a parental unit. So, please share.

Thank you to Stacey, Mary, Norma, Gretchen, Tatum, Angie, Caroline, and Susan. 🙂

What advice would you add to this list before I sell it on Etsy?

Thanks for getting thoughtful with me!

Book reviews

Here are 8 books perfect for your summer reading

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

We are leaving for our family vacation next week, and I’ve started the lists and the piles and the laundry. The first thing I did? Figure out what books I want to take with me! 🙂 Because for me, a vacation means a good excuse to get lost in a book. And if you’re reading this, I bet you have similar priorities. So I’d like to share a few summer reading suggestions with you.

What kind of summer reading do you look for?

One of my favorite podcasts, Matter of Opinion from the New York Times, just dropped an episode with reading recommendations from all four hosts. The books ranged from kid lit (Harriet the Spy and it’s sequel – who knew it had a sequel?!- The Long Secret) to historical fiction. The hosts debated what type of book they liked to take on vacation: the 1000 pages of serious they’ve been meaning to read but never have the time for, or fun, easy books to consume like an ice cream sundae.

Where do you fall this summer? Sophisticated or silly? Cerebral or candy?

One year, I took Charles Dickens’ heavy tome Great Expectations with me to our lakeside vacation in the Adirondacks. My friend turned up her nose. “Why did you bring THAT on vacation?” She had Rob Lowe’s memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, resting on her lap at the time. I lugged Great Expectations up to Lake Pleasant thinking I’d finally have the chance to tackle a classic I “should” read. And I’m glad I got through it. But I’m pretty sure Stories I Only Tell My Friends was way more fun.

My summer reading recommendations

This year, I’m taking two books on vacation. I just started The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles because my book club insisted I had to read it. Most of them read it earlier this year, but I was skittish. My past experience with Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow, was interesting but a bit of a slog. I already like The Lincoln Highway better. The novel opens with so many unanswered questions: What did Emmett do to end up on a work farm? Why did his mother abandon his family? Also, the characters are interesting with unique voices (now I sound like an agent.) And the prose is gorgeous. Here’s what I underlined on page 13:

Because a farmer with a mortgage was like a man walking on the railing of a bridge with his arms outstretched and his eyes closed. It was a way of life in which the difference between abundance and ruin could be measured by a few inches of rain or a few nights of frost.
Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway.

It’s also a road trip story, so quite appropriate for summer vacation. 🙂

I’ll also stow is a collection of short stories called Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri into my travel back pack. My son gave it to me for Christmas, and since that same son is traveling with us (a bonus for the trip since said son is 19 and thoroughly enjoying the freedom that comes with college), I thought I could initiate a discussion with him as we enjoy our four hour layover in the Detroit airport.

Besides those two, here are a few books I’ve already read that would make excellent suggestions for your summer reading list.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, Contemporary adult fiction perfect for any feminist. It reads easy and has substance. Oh my goodness, if you haven’t read this yet, pick up a copy already! My daughter read it in 48 hours and said, “It was so so good. She [the main character] goes crazy. I am in awe. If only my hair were not snot slippery so I too could put it up with a pencil.”
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, contemporary adult fiction about a daughter’s love for her imperfect mother.
We Were Liars by E Lockhart. YA thriller set in Martha’s Vineyard. A summer vacation with some seriously uneasy vibes.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab, a genre defying story of a girl who makes a Faustian deal with the Darkness. Beautiful prose, thought inspiring. I labeled it Magical Realism on Tik Tok and got harassed for doing so. Let’s call it fantasy.
The McNifficents by Amy Makechnie. Middle grade kid lit about a summer of chaos for the McNiffs and their fearless, but aging, nanny, Lord Tennyson (who happens to be a miniature schnauzer.) If you like reading books aloud with your kids, this one’s a winner.
Inciting Joy by Ross Gay. Confession, I haven’t read this one yet, but I loved his The Book of Delights and with all the bad news about the environment and China and Ukraine, I need some joy, people.

There you go, eight more books to choose from!

What are you reading this summer? Can you recommend any great vacation books?

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Who I Am

Listening to birds is good for your health

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

Record heat in the southwest. (Did I hear correctly? 110 degrees?!) Flooding in Vermont. And here in the East, we’ve got wildfire haze in our skies again. If you read or listen to the news this summer, it could mess with your head. The barrage of discouraging headlines often folds my stomach into knots. Thankfully, in recent months, I’ve found two reliable antidotes to stress: my dog and birds.

The dog, Scout, is a shepherd mix. Two years old, a shiny black coat, and 54 pounds of exuberance. She has two modes: play and nap. There is no middle ground. The girl needs her exercise, so every morning, before I launch into the day, we walk for at least 30 minutes. Often, I wear headphones while exercising to get news from podcasts like Up First, The Seven from The Washington Post, and the FOX News Hourly Update. But for that first walk of the day, in the serene hours while the sun climbs up the sky, I go podcast free. No sounds but me, Scout, and the birds.

Take a moment to imagine that. Birds chirping from the fence line, paws padding on the asphalt, the tinkle of dog tags on my puppy’s collar. Kinda makes your heart rate slow, just thinking about it, doesn’t it?

Scout, still being a puppy, requires my attention. I cannot ruminate, or fall down a rabbit hole of internal complaining, for too long before she spots a deer or a squirrel and tries to chase it. I must be ready, ideally a bit ahead of her, to give a command and a corrective tug on her leash to remind her to heel. To stay with me, just like I stay present to her. She gives me much needed practice on grounding myself where we are, beside the green pasture, with the trees shifting beside us in the breeze.

While we walk, I listen to the birds. This summer is the first time I’ve really paid attention to how many different songs I hear. From the pip, pip, pips of small birds hiding in the leaves over my head, to the gravelly caw, caw of the large, black crows flapping high above us. I pay attention to each sound and in an attempt to parse out the different calls.

Please note, I’m not trying to learn which birds make which sounds. I have the Merlin Bird ID app on my phone, but no phone on my walk because, connecting with nature, remember? And while I’d like to learn more about birds, I don’t want to add any “shoulds” to my already long to-do list. So, for now, I just appreciate the different sounds, the joyful cries, the amazing diversity of this lovely county I live in.

My faith in the restorative power of nature is well founded. A recent story in The Washington Post highlighted several benefits of interacting with nature, specifically listening to birds. The article cited several studies that demonstrated “a positive association between seeing or hearing birds and improved mental well-being.”

Birds are everywhere, even in cities. You don’t have to live out in the country, like me, to benefit from nature. Take a walk, even on an urban sidewalk, and you will inevitably encounter a bird or two. Maybe you don’t always see them, but you can hear them calling from tree branches and roof tops. In fact, researchers found people who listened to recordings of bird song had improvements in symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Note the Raleigh skyline beyond this field of sunflowers

A gorgeous field of sunflowers on display at Dorthea Dix Park in Raleigh, NC

This weekend, a friend and I visited a field of blooming sunflowers at Dorthea Dix Park in Raleigh, NC. We both noticed the calming effects of the sea of green and yellow flowers spreading out around us. The bird songs around us just amplified the effect.

My morning walk ritual, with my puppy and the birds to guide me, forces me to ground myself in the moment. To absorb all the peace I can to take with me into the rush of the day. Interacting with nature improves our physical and mental health. Take a few minutes today, and each day, to immerse yourself in nature. I promise you’ll feel better.

Do you have a daily ritual to help you manage stress? Do you listen to the birds that live around you? Even in urban areas, we can hear and see birds. Take advantage of that!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

How to encourage reading

A new way to stay connected!

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Julia Tomiak / 4 Comments

Hi Word Nerds! My blog is 11 years old, and I’m so thankful for the people who continue to visit and read my words. I’m updating the site a little, primarily with how I push out my posts. For many reasons, including wanting to own my email list and eliminate a nasty plug-in that bogs down my site, I’ve switched email platforms. If you previously signed up to receive my posts by email through Word Press, you were not able to reply to them. With my new email provider, Mailer Lite, you can reply directly to me at my email for this site.

If you subscribed before, you don’t need to do anything. I imported all previous subscribers to Mailer Lite. However, you might have to search your junk email folder to find my posts. If you prefer to resubscribe through Mailer Lite, fill out the form below or in the left side bar of my site and look for an email from Diary of a Word Nerd, email address headnerd@juliatomiak.com.

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Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Book reviews

Done with Demon Copperhead? Check these out!

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Julia Tomiak / 5 Comments

My struggle with David Copperfield

After I finished Demon Copperhead, I had to check out the book it’s based on. I mean, what is a Word Nerd if not a glutton for literary classics? Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver, is a modern re-write of the Charles Dickens autobiographical novel David Copperfield. The English major in me couldn’t help it! I yearned to compare and contrast. Can anyone else out there relate?

Besides, while I found Dickens’ Great Expectations quite the slog, I loved listening to A Tale of Two Cities last summer after my visit to Paris. So, I queued up the (free!) audio book of David Copperfield, narrated by Richard Armitage (aka Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit movies), and prepared to listen to my second Dickens novel in less than 12 months. All 36 hours of it.

I made it to hour 27.

Compare and contrast

David Copperfield is, according to Goodreads, “the story of a young man’s adventures on his journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist.” Although David comes from poor beginnings, he is much luckier than Demon in lots of ways. He has lots of friends who care for him and a wealthy aunt who funds his schooling and training. Goodreads describes David Copperfield as “exuberant and popular” filled with equal measures of humor and tragedy. I would substitute the adjectives “dense,” and “trying.” Copperfield reads more like Great Expectations than Two Cities.

Yes, Dickens demonstrates wry humor throughout his novel, and he developed many interesting characters. I especially like David’s aunt, Betsey Trotwood, a formidable woman who gets more page time and punch lines than her counterpart in Demon Copperhead. But she wasn’t enough to get me to finish the book.

Demon Copperhead follows the plot and characters of David Copperfield pretty closely, especially for the first half of the book. It’s fun to discover how Kingsolver modified names and events to fit modern Appalachia. For example, David’s untrustworthy friend James Steerforth from the classic becomes “Fast Forward” in Kingsolver’s novel. While Dora Spenlow enchants young Mr. Copperfield, it’s Dory, also enchanting and unfortunately an addict, who steals Demon’s heart.

By the time I got to chapter 46- yes, that’s forty six- I gave up. I’m a firm believer that life is short and there are too many books to read to drag myself through one I don’t like. So, while I’m glad I explored David Copperfield, I’m done with him.

A better follow up to Demon Copperhead: In the Wild Light

If you enjoyed Demon Copperhead and would like to read more about the people of modern Appalachia, I recommend In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner. It’s a young adult novel about a boy of modest means from Tennessee who learns how to manage grief and find love. Like Demon, Cash has lost his mom to opioid addiction. Like Demon (and David Copperfield), Cash wrestles with memory and identity.

In the Wild Light explores the theme of family, found and given. In a lot of ways, Cash has better luck than Demon or David. He lives with his grandparents and has a strong relationship with his Papaw, or grandfather. Unfortunately, Pawpa is dying from emphysema. When Cash gets the opportunity to leave Tennessee to study at a prep school in New England, he’s torn between staying close to his Papaw and following his chosen family, his best friend Delaney, to a brighter future.

Compare and contrast

In the Wild Light is a YA, less brutal but still bittersweet, version of Demon Copperhead. I love three things about both of these novels. First, the main characters in each book find solace in nature. Appalachia may be poor and fraught with problems, but its rolling mountains and peaceful waterways offer the perfect space for reflection and restoration. Zentner and Kingsolver, who both live in Appalachia, capture that well. Also, in both novels, the main characters use art to process their emotions and work through their struggles. For Cash, that means learning to write poetry. For Demon, that means drawing comics.

Finally, both novels show the importance of friendship and mentorship. Cash and Demon have just a few teachers and or friends who inspire their talent and encourage their efforts. The novels highlight the importance of making time to help teens feel seen, valued, and understood. As someone who parents, coaches, and writes for teens, I could not agree more.

So, even if you are an English major, skip Copperfield, and check out In the Wild Light instead. Zentner is an award winning YA author, and his next book will be a novel in verse. I can’t wait. In the meantime, I’m going to read The Serpent King, the story of Dill, the only son of a Pentacostal minister.

Have you read David Copperfield? What did you think? Are you familiar with Jeff Zentner’s work? Zentner is also fun to follow on Instagram. I saw him speak at a writer’s conference in October 2022, and he was amazing. He spoke about persistence in pursuing creativity. This man wrote his first book ON HIS PHONE while commuting to and from work on a bus. So, no excuses.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!